When an art teacher told me I wasn’t an artist, I decided not to pursue art in college. As a teacher, mural director, professional development facilitator, and personal coach, I’ve come to see the deep interconnections between art and consciousness, and I believe that both are vital for a happy life. Early in my career I took a job as an art teacher at a charter school in Oakland. As a teacher working in inner-city environments, many of my students have painful home lives and have experienced trauma. The truth is that all of us, teachers and students, young and old, are artists.